The Mickley family owned the Cashtown Inn during the Civil War. Jacob Mickley and his family ran the establishment that included the Inn and tavern since it was along a stagecoach route. Prior to the battle of Gettysburg, Lee’s cavalry commander General James Ewell Brown Steuart (JEB) crossed into Virginia to resupply. With the Union on their heels of the Confederate Army, General Robert E. Lee asked General Steuart to take approximately 2000 cavalrymen to cross the Potomac and head north to draw the Union towards them in October 1862. The Confederate cavalry raided Mercersburg and Chambersburg on October 10th and the day after, they raided Cashtown and Emmitsburg. During this raiding party, they captured 1200 horses, parolled around 300 soldiers, and obtained intelligence and destroyed the railroad depot and rails around Chambersburg. They also took over 500 gallons of whiskey from the Cashtown Inn.
A few months later, General Robert E. Lee wanted to head north into the Union states so that the farmers in the South could recover from recent battles. Confederate forces marched northward through Virginia and into southern Pennsylvania. Starting on June 3, 1863, the Gettysburg Campaign began as over 85,000 soldiers slips into the Shenandoah Valley over the next two weeks and moving towards Winchester. This battle would be named the 2nd Winchester. This battle would be the same that Corporal Jack Hasting Skelly was mortally wounded in. On June 26th, the head of Jubal Early 2nd Corps destroyed the Caledonia Iron Works that was owned by Thaddeus Stevens. They continued towards Gettysburg and encountered the emergency 26th Pennsylvania Militia, and killed a few Union soldiers, including Private George Sandoe who was killed along the Baltimore Pike near Rock Creek.
On June 29th, A.P. Hill and the 3rd Corps consisting of 17,000 soldiers marched down the road in front of the Cashtown Inn. Most of the soldiers dug in and relaxed while one brigade continued eastward. A brigade under Pettigrew moved forward unto to Seminary Ridge on the outskirts of Gettysburg and claimed to see Union Cavalry. Pettigrew returned to Cashtown and reported to A.P. Hill about the Cavalry he witnessed. Meanwhile, Confederate general Robert E. Lee orders the scattered army to concentrate near Cashtown to be the stepping stone for the battle ahead as quick as possible. Confederate generals A.P. Hill, Henry Heth, and John D. Imboden all make their headquarters in Cashtown. The Inn now becomes a headquarters for the generals as well as a Confederate field hospital due to the stream running through the town. Two thirds of the Confederate Army passes through Cashtown on June 30th and July 1st. Robert E. Lee arrives into Cashtown between 10am to 11am. on July 1st, and sees A.P. Hill recovering from illness near the Inn. A.P. Hill mentions there is a division under General Heth engaged to the east near Gettysburg. The battle of Gettysburg continues for three long days. Once the battle concludes on July 3rd, the Cashtown Inn becomes one of two routes that the Confederates retreat from, with at one time, had over a 17 mile wagon train that extended to Chambersburg.
The Mickley family survived the Civil War and cleaned up the farm and surrounding landscape. Jacob Mickley later sold the Inn to his daughter, Mary Magdalen Mickley (1808-1891) and she would have 11 children with Daniel Heintzelmen (1809-1889). The family owned the tavern till the death of Daniel. The Cashtown Inn was sold in 1890. Between 1890-1912, there is an unknown history of the property. However, it could have been called the following names:
- Willow Grove Hotel
- The National Hotel
- Dr. Franklin & Ye Glde Cashtown Inn
Between 1913-1924, the Cashtown Inn was used by the Civic League Library. The presidents of the League were Elizabeth Diehl and Emma Jane Schwartz. They had 34 members in 1913 and there was over 400 books that could be borrowed. Prohibition lasted between 1920 to 1933, so the Inn became a private residence until 1935. Luckily, there was a banquet room that was added around 1937. Due to the construction of U.S. 30 up the road from the Cashtown Inn, the business was forgotten between 1940s to 1970s, and was probably a residence through this time frame.
In the late 1980s, Charles (Bud) and Carol Buckley took ownership of the Cashtown Inn and repaired it from years of despair. They were also extras within the Gettysburg movie in the scene of the Cashtown Inn. Within the movie scene, the Buckley’s are the couple that are on the front step of the Cashtown Inn when Confederate general Robert E. Lee arrives and talks with A.P. Hill that is wearing a red long-sleeve shirt. Luckily during this timeframe of the movie, movie actors stayed in and around the Inn during the filming process. Here are the main characters of the movie:
- Martin Sheen – General Robert E. Lee
- Tom Berenger – General James Longstreet
- Stephen Lang – General George Pickett
- Sam Elliott – General John Buford – Union
- Jeff Daniels – General Joshua Chamberlain – Union
- Kevin Conway – Buster Kilrain
Since the movie Gettysburg that was released in 1993, there has been multiple owners of the Cashtown Inn. Bud and Carol Buckley sold the Inn to Dennis and Eileen Hoover in 1996, and the Hoovers were the owners for a decade. The Paladino family owned it from 2006-2021, and was bought again in August of 2021. The new owners have brought the restaurant back into service, updated some of the artifacts, and invited more paranormal groups to the Inn for evening events. During the July and November anniversaries that are remembered in Gettysburg, re-enactors return to the Cashtown Inn, mainly Confederates, playing music that was heard in the Cashtown area in 1863. Here is a sample of the music you may have heard within the link. This was the music played in July 2025 by the 2nd Maryland Fifles and Drums.